Vampires
IRL Blah, blah. I am going to suck your blood and watch you while you sleep. Yeah, no. I'm talking about real, mythological vampires, not sparkly pop culture bullshit. Vampires in real life don't exist, besides those with Renfield Syndrome, which is a concernable obsession with drinking blood. The concepts of sanguivorous monsters are rather prevalent across many cultures. Bruxsa (Portuguese), Vrykolakas/vorvolakas/vourdoulakas (Greek), Penanggalan (Malaysia), Nachzehrer/Nachtmahr/Alps/Mare/Mara (German), Jiangshi (Chinese; chang-shi), Goeng-si (Cantonese), Cuon-thi (Vietnamese), Gangshi (Korean), Kyonshi (Japanese), Hantu Pocong (Malay), etc Everything listed as what they don't do below, is accurate to original vampiric mythology. * They don't sleep in coffins, unless the individual chooses to. Although some versions state that they did return to their coffins before sunrise. * Garlic has no affect on them, unless the individual just dislikes garlic. Y'know, I feel bad for Italian vampires. * Crosses, stakes, and holy water are useless. Besides, holy water doesn't exist. Neither does it in Baolynn. * Sunlight doesn't burn them or turn them to ash, but they will avoid sunlight because it makes them easier to see and because, y'know, more people are awake during the day. * They don't target specifically virgins. * Yes, they can run faster and jump higher, but they're not Sonic the hedgehog. * They can't shift into bats, unless the individual is able to, but many versions did include this because of a story surrounding Vlad The Impaler. He released a bunch of bats from a hill onto opposing enemies that made it look like him and his men turned into bats. Vampires and werewolves both originate from the same creature myth and when separated into two creatures, were synonymous with one another for awhile. * They have reflections and shadows. The mirror thing comes from old mirrors being laced with silver. Modern mirrors are laced with aluminum. The shadow thing comes from the fact that you need to have a soul to have a shadow and vampires were seen as soulless. * They don't cry blood. * Drinking infected blood will just make you sick because they're undead. * They're not psychic, hypnotic, or telekinetic, unless the individual has those abilities. * Wounds will need to be treated like normal, although can't heal due to being undead. * OCD isn't a vampirism thing; it's an individual thing. Although some versions did have OCD. Hence, Count von Count from Sesame Street. * They don't have the strength of twenty body builders. Yes, they're strong, but not that strong. * There's no ancestral vampiric mother, unless a specific culture states such, as in deities. * What do widow's peaks and pointed ears have to do with anything? Those are specific to individuals. * They can go in and out of homes as they please, although some versions couldn't. In Baolynn Vampirism is a disease spread among corpses, resurrecting them with BA eyes, magenta irises, elongated canines that give them an overbite, have anticoagulantive saliva, and tongues with special grooves. These creatures are sanguivorous, as they survive from consuming blood. They do so making an incision into their victim, lick the wound, and then lick/suck the blood out. Their anticoagulantive saliva contains a protein called a plasminogen activator, which makes the blood continually flow without clotting. As with all beings, they must feed often. A vampire has three options: drain your victim, push your limits, or snacking. Draining requires feeding roughly twice a year, pushing requires feeding roughly four to five times a year, and "snacking" requires once or so a month. These are based on blood cells being able to survive in a live body for ~110 days. They can only survive in a vampiric body for ~80-90 days. Different creatures taste differently, but many vamps stick to domestic animals or fish. They may feed for up to thirty minutes before their victim wakes up. Many vampires crave salt and garlic, as the sodium chloride aids blood and garlic is known to reduce blood pressure. Silver is toxic for humans to consume and will be especially so if you lack vitamin C. As vampires lose the ability to eat fruits, many of them find it exceptionally toxic. As far as nutrition goes, consuming menstrual blood is the best option, as it's sterile and the uterine lining is meant to support a fetus. Although, this option is more commonly practiced among the females. Side note, coconut water is a viable substitute for blood in an emergency, so uh, vegan vampires are a thing, sadly. Vampiric skin is unusual in the fact that it's hypersensitive to sunlight. It occurs in mortals under the name erythropoietic protoporphyria (er-ryth-ro-poy-eh-tic proto-pour-fy-ree-uh?). Its easier acronym is EPP. Its vampirically relevant symptoms after exposure to sunlight include: accumulated body fluid under the affected areas (edema), inflammation (erythema), skin discoloration (hyperpigmentation), and scarring in the form of thickened skin. Malformed nails may also occur. Vampire skin in general is considered to have a dry, leathery feel to it. Because they avoid sunlight paired with possible anemia, their skin is usually a saturated color. Other undead don't have blood flow, but since they have a constant source of it, they do. This is also why they're swift and strong. They essentially steal adenosine triphosphate (ATP; biochemical energy) from other life forms, but their swiftness and strength tends to be in bursts. Stereotypes They have lisps and OCD with a tendency to flirt with cows. Most are insomniatic gothic garbage. Notable Examples * Zeke Rosencran * Kubarr Wojewoda History ... Trivia *This shit is neat. Read it. *Plasminogen activator is the nerdiest term I have come across. I swear I didn't make it up. *Mm. Sunlight allergy. *Real EPP inflammation has an itchy, burning sensation to it, but since undead can't feel pain, this is irrelevant. *I feel like I'm ruining vampires with my science. Do I feel remorse? Never. *'Being *clap* sanguivorous *clap* doesn't *clap* make *clap* you *clap* a *clap* vampire.' *Sanguivore is the Latin equivalent of Greek hematophagy.